


One Phone Call

by Mix Stitch (Synph)



Category: DCU - Comicverse
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-27
Updated: 2011-09-27
Packaged: 2017-12-09 13:50:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/774930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Synph/pseuds/Mix%20Stitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maybe this time Bruce will find him before it’s too late.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Phone Call

The quarter in Jason’s shaking hand is the last bit of cash that the teenager has on him.  
  
He’s normally so good about making every single cent last, but… things have been rough lately. Too rough for him to do alone when the seedier parts of the city seem out to destroy him…  
  
The sluggishly bleeding wound high in his side attests to that and Jason pulls a face when he feels a trickle of blood slide over his fingers where he is pressing a hand to staunch the bleeding.  
  
He’s no stranger to pain, but there’s something about stomach wounds that just hurt more that any other wound that Jason has received so far.  
  
It takes him a while to find a working payphone in his shitty Gotham neighborhood and when he finds one next to the barred windows of one of his favorite restaurants, he nearly collapses against the box. Jason’s head is heavy and his hands shake even harder than as he tries to jam the quarter into the phone’s receptacle. The blood coming from his side is soaking into the torn fabric of his old t-shirt and Jason starts to feel dizzy.  
  
The numbers on the payphone’s keypad start to blur and spin in front of his eyes and Jason feels bile in his throat threatening to escape. He’s in so much pain and he’s had worse. Hell, he’s died from worse, but he’s in Gotham and things aren’t supposed to be like this.  
  
He’s not supposed to be slow and stupid enough to get caught by a pint-sized gangbanger with a long reach and a grudge held on behalf of his boss…  
  
Shit.  
  
The pain increases and every breath that Jason takes seems to send spikes of white-hot agony into his ribs and he has to work to keep from collapsing from the pain.  
  
Instead of dialing 911, once Jason hears the dial tone he jabs for a familiar sequence of numbers that he hasn’t had to call in years. The Batman’s private line rings once, twice and then –as Jason is prepared to hang up and collect his quarter to make a second attempt- Bruce picks up the phone.  
  
The older man sounds suspicious from the start and Jason can’t help the smile that tugs at his lips as he hears the roar of the Batmobile’s engine working in the background. “Who is this,” Bruce growls into the phone’s mouthpiece and Jason can picture the look on his face. “How did you get this number?”  
  
Jason coughs once and when he glances down at the front of his shirt, the white material is speckled with blood.  
  
“B, I need you to come pick me up,” he says in a low voice filled with pain. He doesn’t mean to beg, to sound in need, but he has to admit that he’s scared.  
  
He doesn’t want to die again.  
  
“Please, B.”  
  
There’s silence on Bruce’s end and for a minute, Jason fears that the older man has hung up on him.  
  
But then he hears Bruce’s voice and he feels hopeful. “I have your signal,” the older man says and Jason would have to be a great deal less observant not to notice the tension in Bruce’s voice. “Don’t move. I’ll be there soon. I promise.”  
  
When Bruce hangs up, Jason slumps back against the side of the building and lets a slow sigh slip from between his lips.  
  
“Where the fuck does he think I’ll go,” Jason says to himself as he tries to ignore the blackness in his vision. But he smiles slightly and looks up at the sky where the Batsignal is shining up against the clouds.  
  
Why?  
  
Because Batman always keeps his promises…


End file.
